Kelly Pace Wilson
Class of 2015
Kelly Pace Wilson grew up in a Huntsville tennis tradition dating to educator Cecil Fain, and she added a brilliant new chapter of her own. A 1991 Huntsville High graduate, she was ranked No. 1 in Alabama in every junior age group, won the 1990 individual state title, led HHS to the 6A team championship, and captured a doubles crown. At 15 she won her first pro event, the Southern Open, and was named the Southern Tennis Association’s Junior Player of the Year. She represented Alabama in Junior Wightman Cup play and finished 1990 ranked No. 15 nationally.
Texas came calling with a full scholarship in 1992. In Austin, Pace became a five-time All-American, the winningest player in Longhorns history (152 victories; 42–4 in singles finals), a three-time team MVP (1992, ’94, ’95), SWC Player of the Year, and the NCAA’s National Senior Player of the Year. She helped UT capture two national championships and was All-SWC in singles and doubles all four seasons. As a collegian she won two pro tournaments and qualified for the 1996 U.S. Open, the year Steffi Graf defeated Monica Seles in the final—a personal milestone Pace still calls her biggest highlight.
Turning pro, she climbed to No. 196 in the world in singles and No. 134 in doubles, then later topped U.S. national rankings in the women’s 35s in 2011 and 2012. In 2013 she entered the University of Texas Athletics Hall of Honor.
Pace’s second act has been as coach and director, with stops at Carmel Valley (CA), Hampton Cove (AL), and Rio Del Oro (CA). She now coaches elite juniors at Gold River Racquet Club near Cameron Park, where she lives with her husband, Bill Wilson, and their son, Drake. She credits parents Ernest and Joann for work ethic, training partners like Eddie Jacques for daily edge, and coaches Mike and Fred Weckwarth, Mark Delton, Jamie Miller, Hugh Thomson, Jon Fraser, and Bill Tym for shaping a champion’s toolkit.
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